What is Oil Blotting paper?

 What is Oil Blotting paper? 

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The cosmetics industry continues to churn out new ways of improving and maintaining our skin, and more and more we have no idea what we’re putting on our faces. Now, not to knock the scientific advancements that make our daily lives easier but you need only to look at history to find some ingenious and simple methods of skin maintenance.

Abura-tori-gami, or ‘oil-blotting-paper’?

Aburatorigami was created over millennia ago when Kyoto, not Tokyo was the capital in Japan. During this period, from around 794 AD to 1192 AD, very thin gold leaf was being used very heavily to adorn the temples in Kyoto. During the process of beating gold into very thin pieces, the paper used to support the gold was also thinned to an extent that they were incredibly fine. This incidental product was the first version of Aburatorigami.
It was almost by accident that it was discovered that this thin paper could absorb oil so easily, but once the rumors spread, Aburatorigami caught on and became all the rage for everyone from housewives to Kabuki actors. Kabuki actors, like geisha, were especially grateful to have a product that would help keep their thick make up on for their performances in non-air-conditioned theaters.

photo source : http://tokyojinja.com

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